In 2018, Warner Bros. found massive success when it adapted Kevin Kwan’s Crazy Rich Asians for the big screen. And while the two sequels, Crazy Rich Girlfriend and Rich People Problems, remain in development, Deadline is reporting that a Crazy Rich Asians spinoff movie is also in the works.
According to the report, Barry producer and screenwriter Jason Kim has signed on to write the currently untitled Crazy Rich Asians spinoff, which will feature Gemma Chan and Harry Shum Jr. reprising their respective roles as Astrid Young Teo and Charlie Wu. In the novel and in the first movie, Charlie and Astrid were young and in love before Astrid’s parents forced her to break off the relationship. But by the end of the film, Astrid and Charlie found their way back to each other.
Deadline also noted that “Kim came in with a dynamite pitch for the lovebirds’ story, and Warner Bros. swooned for it.”
It’s possible that the spinoff will incorporate material from China Rich Girlfriend, since Astrid and Charlie’s relationship is also explored in that novel, but the primary focus of that story are the original power couple, Rachel Chu (Constance Wu) and Nick Young (Henry Golding). The sequel novel finds Rachel and Nick on an unexpected trip to Shanghai in order to find her birth father.
The untitled Crazy Rich Asians spinoff will be produced by Jon Chu, as well as the producers of the original film: Nina Jacobson, Brad Simpson, and John Penotti. Warner Bros. hasn’t found a director yet or formally started the casting beyond the two leads. Given the early state of the project’s development, it may take some time to arrive in theaters.
